Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Let's Talk about Philanthropy

Several articles on this topic have crossed my computer screen so let's dive in.

One of my favorite public education bloggers, Mercedes Schneider, had this fascinating thread at her blog, Deutsch29, "Media Matters: Reporting on Corporate Reform and Omitting Walton, Gates, and Broad."

Media Matters is a non-profit "progressive research and information center research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing and correcting conservative misinformation in the US media…" whose chair just happened to be Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, David Brock.

Media Matters published this piece, “Here Are The Corporations And Right-Wing Funders Backing The Education Reform Movement: A Guide To The Funders Behind A Tangled Network Of Advocacy, Research, Media, And Profiteering That’s Taking Over Public Education.”

Now, from the title, it sounds like Vogel’s piece is exhaustive– “a guide to the funders.” However, as one continues reading, one finds this summation:

Media Matters outlines the many overlapping connections in an echo chamber of education privatization advocacy groups, think tanks, and media outlets that are increasingly funded by a handful of conservative billionaires and for-profit education companies — often without proper disclosure.